Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grinding method for grinding a plurality of platelike workpieces.
Description of the Related Art
In general, electronic devices such as ICs and LSIs are manufactured by using a silicon wafer. On the other hand, optical devices such as LEDs are frequently manufactured by using a sapphire substrate showing mechanically and thermally excellent characteristics and chemically stable. Further, in recent years, power devices for power control are occasionally manufactured by using an SiC substrate advantageous to higher breakdown voltage and lower loss.
In a sapphire substrate or SiC substrate more expensive than a silicon wafer, a diameter of about 2 inches to 4 inches is dominant. If such substrates having a small diameter are ground one by one, sufficient productivity cannot be maintained, so that there has been examined a grinding method capable of grinding a plurality of substrates at a time (see Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2010-247311, for example).